The sock drawer

It was the light that woke her up.

Groaning, Ruby flung aside the bedding and covered her face with her hands.

She fumbled out of bed and crossed the room to close the bedroom door to stop the light.

The door was already shut.

The top drawer of her chest of drawers was slightly ajar, and the brightness appeared to be tumbling out. Ruby sunk to her knees and crawled to the dresser. Eyes closed, she felt her way up to the open drawer, lightly banging her head as she did so. Clutching her scalp, eyes still closed, she opened the drawer more and reached in.

She expected to find socks and the cold hard plywood base. There was nothing except air, and what felt like spray from a waterfall. The light still beamed through so Ruby’s eyes remained closed. She continued to grasp reaching in deeper and deeper. She was on her tippy toes – was the drawer always this deep? Her hands clasped open, desperate to feel something.

And then she did.

It felt like another hand and it was grasping hers. It was pulling her in. She attempted to pull away but with nothing to support her, it was futile. The hand gave one sharp tug and Ruby was no longer in her bedroom, but consumed by the light.

She was being pulled up. It was hard to breathe and a strange substance closed in on her, attempting to fill her lungs. The hand was still pulling her but this time Ruby clung to it. She tried to breathe but was rewarded with a mouthful of whatever it was that was surrounding her. Ruby let herself be pulled up; at least she thought she was going up.

Ruby heard muffled voices, getting louder. Whatever she was in, she was reaching the surface. The hand, strong around her wrist tightened and she felt another hand grab her elbow.

She broke the surface, gasping for air, still with her eyes closed.

Ruby felt herself being lowered onto what felt like grass. The hands were strong yet gentle. She still didn’t want to open her eyes though. Ruby wanted to be back in her bed.

“Is she okay? Why are her eyes all scrunched up?” said a gruff voice, with an accent she couldn’t quite place.

“Well, she’s breathing and she appears to be conscious. Should I shake her?” said another male voice, this one deeper and more resonant.

“You could try slapping her. More effective.”

“Surely shaking and slapping have the same effect.”

“Slapping is quicker. Besides, she has a weird look on her face, like she’s in pain. Look at her.”

Ruby quickly relaxed her face, still not opening her eyes.

“I think she just heard you. She’s definitely conscious, just ignoring us apparently.”

“That’s a little rude, don’t you think,” said the gruff one. Ruby realised she couldn’t stay like this forever but she really didn’t want to open her eyes. Instead, she said:

“Not rude, just really scared.”

The two voices chuckled, and Ruby felt someone sit down next to her.

“Why are you so scared?” said the deep voice, with a hint of concern, but mostly humour. “After all, you’re safe. We rescued you.”

“But, you pulled me in. I was just trying to find the light in my sock drawer and then one of you grabbed my hand and pulled me in.” They laughed again, which got Ruby angry.

“Please, sirs, I would really appreciate if you just let me go back to my bedroom.” She said, her eyes still closed. If she didn’t open them, then maybe, eventually she would wake up.

“Miss, you were drowning. We pulled you out from the lake.” Said the gruff voice, sounding more irritated.

Her eyes flew open. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. The light was nowhere as near as bright as the one in the sock drawer, but she knew it was daytime wherever she was.

There were trees, lots of them and they were everywhere. She appeared to be in a clearing, on the edge of a small lake.

The pacing man was not as friendly looking as the other, and the impatient way he walked up and down indicated that rescuing her had been an unnecessary distraction.

“You’re alive. Good.” The strong jawed man spoke and Ruby recognised that he was behind the deeper, softer voice she had heard earlier.

“Good, good. She’s all well and rescued. Can we leave now?” said the other, prompting an angry look from his friend.

“Call yourself a knight, Theo? This is your classic damsel in distress.”

Ruby felt she had to pipe up at this moment.

“Excuse me, I’m no damsel in distress. I was doing fine until you,” pointing a finger at not-Theo as she said it, “pulled me into my sock drawer.”

Baffled amusement flashed across the not-Theo’s face as his smile widened so it was no longer lopsided, but even more endearing.

“You must have knocked your head when you fell in. There is no ‘sock drawer’ to be seen, whatever one of those are. This is Mandeville and I presumed you were from one of the neighbouring villages. Besides, it was Theo, not I, that pulled you from the lake.”

“Unless there is a nearby village called Croydon, then no, I’m not from around here,” Ruby replied, slightly shivering in her wet clothes. She glanced up and saw the sun was low in the sky. Evening was approaching.

The knight noticed and untied his cloak, that Ruby had only just registered he was wearing, from around his neck and in one graceful movement placed it on her shoulders.

“My name’s Freddie. Nice to meet you,” he said extending his hand. Ruby reached out, expecting to shake it but instead he lightly pressed the tips of his fingers against hers. It appeared to be the normal greeting of Mandeville and Ruby found herself preferring it more than a handshake.

“I’m Ruby,” she replied.

“Fred, it’s getting dark. We’ve lost hours of travel. Let’s carry on,” interrupted Theo, glaring at the two of us.

Freddie jumped up, an impressive feat given the weight of his armour. He reached his hand down for Ruby’s.

“Let us go, Ruby of Croydon, before Theo gets so enraged his head explodes.” He said smiling as he helped Ruby up. Theo shook his head and walked away toward the forest.

“Where are we going?” Ruby said, cleaning her pyjamas down of the blue grass.

“To slay a demon, of course.” Freddie said as he followed Theo, mimicking his steadfast walk.

Into the madness I go, Ruby thought as she too followed the knights into the darkness of the trees.

It has been five years since Ruby disappeared that September night. Detective Sergeant Jack Walsh had been supping a strong tea when they received a call from a distraught Raveena at 8am on Thursday morning. Her daughter had disappeared overnight and she had no idea where she was. He was one of the best officers when it came to missing people so he quickly sprang into action.

It wasn’t until a year later that his superintendent took him aside and said it was time to close the case. There had been no leads, no clues, just an open drawer filled with socks and nothing else. Everyone had one, an unsolved case, but Jack wasn’t ready for it to be him. He refused to give up, finding himself looking down more and more unusual avenues for her disappearance. When these were reported back, he was laughed at by the whole team. After the tenth report two years later, he was ordered to take sick leave, for his mental health. This can happen, Jack was told, it only takes one bad case to send an officer a little crazy.

After a year’s sabbatical at home, Jack returned to work, convincing his team he was no longer delusional and that he no longer believed Ruby has been transported into a magic world through her sock drawer. His team didn’t know the skills Jack had built up in his drama group as a kid. He knew what to say, and what they needed to hear to get his job back. Jack smiled as they welcomed him back – just give me the Oscar, he thought as he shook hands and shared side hugs with the team.

Jack knew he wasn’t being silly, and during his year away from work, he had done some scouting. A few months ago, he believed he had found the location of the chest of drawers that Raveena had gotten rid of in order to move on with her grieving process. As a civilian, he couldn’t access it, but as a detective sergeant, he may have a chance. He had no choice but to play the game of the despondent officer, looking to return to work, fully healed of all of his ‘silly’ thoughts.

At 2pm, Jack pulled up to the green building, a full 30 minutes away from the centre of town. The building was surrounded by factories that hadn’t seen industry in 20 years. A perfect place for a storage building where people could abandon their belongings with an empty promise to go back and sort through them later. Jack grabbed his badge as he left the car and approached the building. The chest of drawers had been for sale in an antique shop on the other end of town. It had been bought by a newlywed couple determined to fill their new home with rustic furniture. When they separated after 5 months of marriage, the bride took the furniture, vowing her ex would never see it again. Shortly before moving to Australia with her lover, she put all furniture into a storage unit.

Jack asked to see unit 56, flashing his badge as he did so. Not technically legal, but the spotty teenager managing the desk, and reeking of marijuana, quickly handed over the key.

Thanking him, Jack followed the directions to the unit, the key slipping in his now sweaty hand. He reached unit 56 and paused to take a breath. Sliding the key in, he winced as it scraped against the rusting lock. With a satisfying thud, the lock opened and the door swung open. Jack covered his nose with his shirt as the dust hit him. There were boxes, cardboard and plastic mixed with plaid sofa cushions and a too large wooden table, that took up half of the space. Coughing through the dust, Jack looked into the gloom and saw what he was looking for – tucked in the corner was the chest of drawers.

He crawled over the bric-a-brac to reach it. Whilst everything else was covered in a thin layer of dust, the chest of drawers appeared to be clean as he ran his hand over it. Jack smiled to himself – this could only be a good sign. Five years ago, the drawers had been combed through and nothing had come of it. Jack was the only one to believe there was something more to it.

After a lengthy process of moving the chest away from the corner, he was ready to open the top drawer. Jack slowly eased it open, careful not to damage it. Nothing lay inside it, so Jack ran his fingers on the base of the drawer, and to the back. His fingers touched every thing within the drawer but all he felt was cold wood. He growled to himself, there had to be something. He opened all the other drawers and did the same process, finding nothing.

Jack kicked the last draw shut as he slid down to the floor, face in his hands. He was so sure this was the chest of drawers. He would have to start his search again. He remained on the floor for five minutes trying to convince himself he hadn’t wasted the last few years to this hunt.

It wasn’t until he was shifting his weight to get up that he saw a light. The top drawer was slightly ajar – he was sure he had shut it.

The glow was emanating out as Jack approached slowly. He thrust his hand into the gap, his arm forcing the gap to widen. He was now able to put both arms in – his hands met with nothing at the bottom. He reached deeper and deeper, feeling a water spray on his exposed arms. His arms could go no further, so Jack took a deep breath and flung himself into the drawer.

He landed in water, unaware of the depth and width. A strong swimmer, Jack swiftly swam to where he saw sunlight. He emerged out of the water, his hair clinging to his face. He was in a lake, and as he dragged himself out onto the blue grass, he noticed the beauty of the trees in the wind.

He heard people shouting, coming closer to the lake. He was in a clearing so couldn’t see any place to hide within reach. The shouting grew louder, and something whizzed past his arm. Not taking the time to look at what that was, Jack ran across the clearing to cover.

Just as his hand reached for the tree, he stopped suddenly. Jack was confused as to why he wasn’t moving. He felt a strange sensation in his back, so he reached round to feel for what may have struck him. His hand closed over a long thin branch, which if moved, sent convulsing pain through his whole body. He fell to the ground on his side as some one ran up to him. She was holding a bow but her face didn’t show menace, but sorrow. She gently reached for his arm and assessed the arrow in his back.

“I’m so sorry, it was an accident.” She said and Jack could see her eyes were beginning to water.

“Ruby?” he asked. Had he finally found her?

Jack didn’t get to hear her response as at that moment, his heart ceased to beat.